The Boston Bruins captain could barely move his lips as he answered a few questions at the podium on Saturday, but the fact he was up there at all confirmed he was about to play his second game of the Stanley Cup final with a broken jaw.

Chara’s ice time in the third period slipped to about 4 1/2 minutes in Game 5, leading to some speculation he was having difficulty.

“I feel fine playing,” the 42-year-old defenceman said through the wires. “Obviously it was a quick turnaround after last game, but I felt fine.”

While nothing about the injury has been confirmed, Chara must have had surgery in the 71 hours between the time a puck shot by Brayden Schenn of the St. Louis Blues deflected off his own stick and hit him in the face early in the second period of Game 4 and the emotional cheers he received from Bruins fans as he stood on the blue line Monday, ready to play.

Chara wasn’t his usual forceful self — he bounced off one of the Blues while trying to make a hit — but he also wasn’t at full strength because of the combination of the medication he must have been on and the inability to have his usual pre-game meal.

“I think there is no limitations,” Chara said. “I’m still able to play. I’m trying to always eat as much as I can and keep my nutritions and fluids up.”

That he continues to show up for work despite the obvious pain remains an inspiration to his teammates.

Zdeno Chara watches the action from the Bruins bench during Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final in Boston on Thursday night.Patrick Smith /
Getty Images

“He’s our leader, he’s the toughest guy out there,” Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask said. “He doesn’t take any games off unless it’s impossible to play. So it’s an emotional lift to all of us. He’s the backbone of the defence, so it’s a great help for us to have him back there.”

Meanwhile, after Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy delivers his pre-game speech for Game 6, Chara will do his usual part in communicating the message.

“Before every game we have meetings and we talk about what we want to do and how we want to play,” he said. “Obviously it’s a big game but I think it’s going to be a shared responsibility between the coaching staff and all of us to do a share of talking, and make sure we are where we need to be, the right mindset and he preparation before the game. But I don’t think it’s just a specific speech or just a player that has to do all the talking. I think we’ve been really good as a team the whole season to talk before the games, and it’s just preparation as usual.”

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